Akhtar, who is renowned for being the only pacer who breached the 100 mph barrier in cricket, feels that he and Kohli would have been best friends had they met on a cricket pitch.
Shoaib Akhtar on Indian cricketers
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar spoke about the match-fixing era in the squad and how he would not have listened to Wasim Akram if he had approach him regarding the same. Earlier Shoaib Akhtar has named Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar as one of the “greatest batsman of all time”.
Kohli might not have played against Shoaib Akhtar but the former Pakistani pacer is all praise for the Indian captain.
Akhtar, who is renowned for being the only pacer who breached the 100 mph barrier in cricket, feels that he and Kohli would have been best friends had they met on a cricket pitch.
Akhtar appeared on a video podcast with Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNCricinfo and shared his views on the 31-year-old Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper.
“Virat Kohli and I would have been the best of friends. We both are Punjabi, we both have quite a similar nature. He seems like he has a lot of heart, and even though, he’s a lot junior to me, I really respect him,“Akhtar said.
However, Akhtar added that the friendship would not be on the cricket field but only off it.
“We would have been the best of friends. But on the field, we would have been the best of enemies,” he said.
Akhtar, who had an illustrious career for Pakistan with 178 Test wickets in 46 matches, is still considered one of the most lethal pacers ever.
Chennai Super Kings hilariously commented on Royal Challengers Bangalore‘s tweet on winning Indian Poll League. Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore is one of the IPL team with huge fan base globally.
Though they have star players like Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers and many more they failed to register their name in IPL winning team list. Every year RCB fans expect their team to lift the maiden trophy where RCB fails to make their dreams come true.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic Indian Government announced a total lock down national wide to control the spread. Which in turn postponed the IPL 2020 that has been scheduled to begin from March 29 with an opening match between Chennai Super Kings and four time IPL winner Mumbai Indians.
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 22, 2020
“A big thank you to everyone who made RCB the champions of the #IndianPollLeague by voting consistently, every day for the last 55 days. In the final, #RCB beat #SRH with an incredible 85% of the votes!” RCB tweeted.
It’s time for the BIG FINALE of the #IndianPollLeague! #RCB battle it out with #SRH in an epic poll to be crowned Champions.🏆
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 24, 2020
Responding to this post, CSK dropped a hilarious response. The Chennai-based franchise posted a photograph of Tamil movie actor Rajinikanth’s with a caption that read, ‘Ee Saala Cup Umadey’ (the cup is yours this year).
The Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh who last played for India in 2016 propose his interest to play T20 cricket for India. The 39 year old believes that he is fit and still ready to play for the country.
The “Turbanator” was also a part of team when India won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup. He has not been in the Indian team since 2016 but continue to executes his skills in IPL.
Harbhajan Singh hasn’t lose hope and spells out his eagerness to play in blue jersey.
“I am ready. If I can bowl well in IPL, which is a very difficult tournament for bowlers because the grounds are smaller, and all the top players in world cricket play in the IPL,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Harbhajan as saying.
In his 12 years IPL carrier Harbhajan lifted the trophy for three times with Mumbai Indians and one time with Chennai Super Kings.
Harbhajan Singh made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) while playing for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the inaugural season. In the 160 matches he has played so far, Singh has scalped 150 wickets, conceding 7.05 runs per over. His best bowling figures are 5 for 18.
In the batting department, he has scored a total of 829 runs at a strike rate of 137.22, and his highest individual score is 64. Harbhajan Singh was an integral part of Mumbai Indians until IPL 2017. However, in the IPL 2018 auction, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bagged him at a base price of Rs 2 crore.
However, the bowler said that the selectors did not have a look at him because they think he is too old.
“They will not look at me because they feel I am too old,” he said. “Also I don’t play any domestic cricket. [In the] Last four-five years they did not look at me even though I was doing well in the IPL, taking wickets and I had all my records to back my case.
“It is very challenging to bowl against them and if you can do well against them in IPL, you can do well in international cricket. I have bowled predominantly in the powerplay and middle overs and got wickets,” he added.
He believes that the IPL is the most difficult competition when it comes to T20 cricket and said that after performing in this tournament, he can make a comeback into the Indian side.
“In international cricket, not all teams have quality players like IPL teams, where every team has a top-six which is good. Yes, Australia, England, India have all got very good batting line-ups,” Harbhajan said.
“But if I can get Johnny Bairstow and David Warner in IPL, don’t you think I can get them in international cricket? But it is not in my hands. No one comes and talks to you in this present Indian set-up,” he added.
When it comes to the Indian side, Harbhajan still continues to be India’s highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. He has taken 417 wickets in 103 Tests and was also the first Indian bowler to claim a Test hat-trick – a feat he achieved against Australia in 2001.
In ODIs, the spinner has taken 269 wickets in 236 matches, and in T20Is, he has 25 wickets to his name in 28 appearances.
While the news of India likely to tour South Africa in August came as a source of amazement for plentiful fans around the world, it is England who might play international cricket before India as some of their players have already resumed training.
Had it not been for the novel COVID-19 pandemic, the English summer would have already started by now. It is worth mentioning that England are due to host West Indies and Pakistan across formats this summer and steps are being taken to ensure the same commences by July.
In addition to the aforementioned series, even Australia are slated to visit England for limited-over fixtures. Speaking to NewsCorp in a recent interaction, Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts sounded affirmative about the tour of England.
“I think there’s some chance we could send a team over. Obviously we won’t jeopardise the safety of the players, but the best test of that is that the West Indian and Pakistan tours of England before we’re due to tour. We hope they go off without a hitch,” Roberts was quoted as saying.
Cricket Australia hint strong chances of hosting India
Keen on hosting India later this year primarily due to the financial aspect involved, Cricket Australia have been on toes to make sure that the series goes ahead as planned or with minimal changes.
Being asked about the prospect of hosting India, Roberts expressed confidence saying that he would be “really surprised” if the tour gets affected in any manner. However, Roberts didn’t guarantee the matches involving 100% attendance from the word go.
“I guess there’s no such thing as certainty in today’s world so I can’t say 10 [out of 10], but I’m going to say nine out of 10. With the variable being, who would know whether we can have crowds.
“I’d be really surprised if we can’t get the Indian tour away. But I wouldn’t, hand on heart suggest we’ll have full crowds from the start. We’ll just have to see how that goes,” Roberts said.
KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant Parthiv Patel picks the best wicket keeper batsman
Veteran wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel has expressed faith in flamboyant yet out-of-favour wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant’s abilities and hinted that playing domestic cricket might aid the latter.
“Rishabh Pant definitely has it in him, there’s no doubt about that. If I put myself into his shoes when I was 17-18, I didn’t have a good series, and going back to domestic cricket for a couple of years helped me a lot,” Patel was quoted as saying by FanCode.
Pant, 22, has been subjected to severe criticism in the recent past. Him repeatedly being given opportunities at the highest level with below par returns hadn’t gone down well with fans. Patel further revealed a constant conversation with Pant regarding his potential.
“Every time I’ve met Rishabh, I’ve always told him that people are talking about you because you’ve talent in you. If you had no talent and if you weren’t talented, people wouldn’t have been talking about you, so keep that in mind. Sometimes, you have to go back to domestic cricket and just get that form back,” Patel said.
Parthiv Patel picks one as India’s limited-overs wicket-keeper
Despite being duly backed by the team management, Pant saw an injury getting him replaced by Lokesh Rahul in white-ball cricket.
In the 10 white-ball matches that Rahul has played as a specialist wicket-keeper batsman this year, he has scored 527 runs at an average of 65.87 and a strike rate of 125.77 including one century and four half-centuries to cement his spot for the time being.
Being asked to pick one between Rahul and Pant for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia, Patel didn’t shy away from naming the former but considered him to be a “short-term thing”.
“At this point of time, KL Rahul. I feel Rahul is your short-term thing in a way if you’re thinking of the [ICC T20] World Cup. I think he’ll do the job for you during the World Cup, there’s no doubt about it,” Patel added.
The cash-rich Indian Premier League was set to witness former India skipper MS Dhoni, who has not played international cricket since the 2019 Cricket World Cup. But with the T20 tournament postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus lockdown, former India cricketer Ajay Ratra feels it will be difficult for Dhoni to make a comeback.
Ratra, on the other hand, did not write his comeback completely as he felt with Dhoni you never know.
“You see, Dhoni is a very unpredictable player but yes there has been a long time since he played competitive cricket. IPL 2020 seemed quite decisive for his international career. The team management would have closely monitored his performance and also how other wicketkeepers would’ve done during the IPL. Unfortunately, IPL getting postponed indefinitely makes it (Dhoni’s comeback) difficult but you never know with Dhoni,” Ratra told Mykhel.
Earlier, India coach Ravi Shastri had said Dhoni’s performances in the IPL will determine he will make it to the national team for the upcoming T20 World Cup or not.
With the BCCI waiting for the green signal from the government, it is highly unlikely the T20 tournament will take place in the next two months.
In March, Dhoni reached Chennai and starts his practice session with his team mates where MSD outshined with massive shots. But due to the increase in corona virus positive cases training camps has been closed by the franchises and Dhoni left Chennai with warm sent off.
Ex- cricketers on MS Dhoni’s retirement
Regards Indian former skipper MS Dhoni’s return many revealed their thoughts and plot the possibilities. Where Indian former player Sunil Gavaskar suggest Dhoni should retire silently and Sehwag advice team India to play with their current wicket keeper batsman.
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar says he cannot fathom why Mahendra Singh Dhoni has “dragged it for so long” as the right time for the maverick ex-India skipper to call it quits was after last year’s ODI World Cup.
“This guy has served to the best of his ability. He should leave cricket with dignity. I don’t know why he dragged it for so long. He should have retired after the World Cup,” Akhtar told PTI from Islamabad.
“If I would have been in his place, I would have hung up my boots. I could have played shorter formats for three-four years but I left (after the 2011 WC) as I wasn’t into the game 100 per cent. So why drag?” he asked.
Bollywood Actresses React To KL Rahul's Instagram Post
KL Rahul, much like other cricketers in the country, is spending time at home and going by his latest Instagram post, the wicketkeeper-batsman is finding it hard to handle the nationwide lockdown.
KL Rahul Hairstyle – KL Rahul took to Instagram to flaunt his new hairstyle and he caught the attention of two young Bollywood actresses. “Mind gone, hair gone,” Rahul captioned the image. Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, who made her debut with ‘Guilty’, a Netflix movie and Anushka Ranjan, who has done several movies, both reacted to KL Rahul’s new hairdo.
Rahul showed his glorious form in the last New Zealand ODI matches consist of three matches by scoring 202 runs in total with an average of 102 that includes a century and a half-century. KL Rahul list number of Individual records after his 4th Hundred in New Zealand vs India 3rd ODI.
This is the first ODI hundred by an Indian player batting at #5 or below since MS Dhoni’s 134 against England at Cuttack in Jan 2017
KL Rahul scored his 4th ODI hundred and second wicketkeeper to score outside Asia after Rahul Dravid(145 vs SL Taunton 1999).
KL Rahul’s four ODI centuries came in four different countries. He is only the 2nd Indian to score each of his first four ODI hundreds in different nations. Yuvraj Singh’s first six ODI centuries came in different countries
Rahul is only the 2nd Indian to score 200+ runs while batting at No.5 in a bilateral ODI series outside Asia. Previously Rohit Sharma scored 257 runs while batting at No.5 during the 2011 5-match ODI series against West Indies in West Indies.
Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh tweeted a video which shows batting legend Sachin Tendulkar plucking lemon from a tree, using a bamboo stick. The 29-second video also shows Sachin correcting a man who mistakes lemon for a mango. “It’s not a mango, it’s a limbu” Sachin can be heard saying in the video. Sharing the video on Twitter, Harbhajan requested the batting maestro to pluck 2-3 of lemons for him as well. “Paji 2/3 nimbu mere liye bi nikal lena,” Harbhajan wrote on Twitter.
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) May 20, 2020
ICC’s post on Sachin and Ganguly
ICC shared a post praising Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly — one-day cricket’s best-ever opening batting pair.
Reacting to ICC’s tweet, Sachin wondered how many more runs he and Ganguly would have scored had the current fielding regulations been in place during their playing days.
“This brings back wonderful memories Dadi. How many more do you think we would’ve been able to score with the restriction of 4 fielders outside the ring and 2 new balls?” Tendulkar replied on the ICC’s post.
This brings back wonderful memories Dadi.
How many more do you think we would’ve been able to score with the restriction of 4 fielders outside the ring and 2 new balls? 😉@SGanguly99@ICChttps://t.co/vPlYi5V3mo
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, was also quick to, respond to Sachin Tendulkar’s tweet and said that the duo would’ve added 4000 runs or so in that case.
Another 4000 or so ..2 new balls..wow .. sounds like a cover drive flying to the boundary in the first over of the game.. for the remaining 50 overs 💪😊..@ICC@sachin_rthttps://t.co/rJOaQpg3at
Sachin Tendulkar’s donation towards Coronavirus relief fund
Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar made a generous donation in the fight against coronavirus pandemic by financially aiding 4000 underprivileged people, including children. Hi5 Youth Foundation hailed Tendulkar for the contribution. Sachin had donated Rs 25 lakh each to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and the Maharashtra Chief Minister Relief Fund to aid the battle against COVID-19.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday posted a throwback picture featuring former India batting legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid along with MS Dhoni. Soon after the ICC shared the picture, fans went nostalgic after seeing their cricketing heroes in a single frame. “#ThrowbackThursday,” the ICC captioned the post. The image is from a net session from 2007 when India toured England for a three Test matches and seven One-Day Internationals.
These three legends plays a major role in building “The great Indian Cricket Team”. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid retires from cricket during the MS Dhoni’s captaincy. The three former Indian captains have a numerous unique records under their names.
Most number of catches by a fielder in Test cricket
Rahul Dravid was a magnificent slip fielder. He took 210 catches in his 164-match long Test career- the highest by any non-wicketkeeper fielder.
Highest number of balls faced
Rahul Dravid faced the highest number of balls in his Test career spanning over 16 years. He has faced 31,258 deliveries during his Test Career, with the next closest batman being Tendulkar at 29,437 balls.
Rahul Dravid holds the record for most time spent at the crease by a Test batsman, recording 735 hours and 52 minutes (44,152 minutes) on the pitch.
First batsman with 10000 runs at No 3 in Tests
Rahul Dravid is the first international cricketer to have scored more than 10,000 runs batting at no. 3 position – 10,524 runs from 219 innings at an avg. of 52.88 with 28 hundreds and 50 fifties and a highest score of 270.
4 hundreds in 4 innings
Rahul Dravid is the only Indian cricketer to score a hundred in 4 consecutive innings. He achieved this feat in 2002 with scores of 115, 148, 217 (all against England) at Nottingham, Leeds and The Oval respectively and 100n.o. against West Indies at Mumbai.
Rahul Dravid: The best partner
Rahul Dravid has more partnership runs (32,039) than any other batsman in Test Cricket. Dravid has more hundred run partnerships and more fifty run partnerships than any other batsman – 88 and 126 respectively. He was involved in 2nd most number of partnerships (738) behind Shivnarine Chanderpaul (750) in Test cricket history.
Rahul Dravid with Sachin Tendulkar
Dravid and Tendulkar have scored more partnership runs and have been involved in more hundred run stands than any other batting pair – 6,920 runs with 20 century stands – both are world records.
Two 300 plus partnerships in ODIs
The only batsman to have been involved in two ODI partnerships exceeding 300 runs. Dravid was also the first batsman to be involved in a 300 run partnership in a Cricket World Cup along with Sourav Ganguly in the 1999 World Cup match against Sri Lanka at Taunton.
Longest without a duck
Rahul Dravid has the record of not being dismissed on duck for the most consecutive ODI matches (120) to his name. Among all the batsmen who have scored more than 10,000 runs in Test cricket during their career, Dravid has been dismissed for a duck the least number of times – 8 times.
First cricketer to score centuries in all 10 Test playing nations
Rahul Dravid is the first batsman to have scored centuries in all 10 Test cricket playing nations. England, West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India were the 10 Test playing nations during his career.
MS Dhoni’s Unique record
Most Career Runs at No. 6
Highest Individual Score by a wicket-keeper batsman in ODIs
Only Captain to whitewash Australia in Australia in 140 Years
Fastest to reach No. 1 of ICC ODI Rankings
Most Sixes in ODI as a Captain
Most ODI Games finished with a Six
Most Expensive Bat
Only Player to win the World Cup with a Six
Most Times Bowled while playing as a WK
Most Not-Outs
Most centuries at No. 7 in ODIs
Most Stumpings in International Cricket
Most Successful Indian wicket-keeper
First Player to pass 10,000 ODI runs with 50+ average
Most T20 International wins as captain
Most Successful IPL Captain
First Captain to take India at No. 1 in Tests
Most Matches as Captain
Most Successful Indian Captain in all three formats
When he hung up his boots in 2014, he had scored 62 tons in across all formats.
On the other hand, the 31-year-old Roach has played 56 Tests and 92 ODIs for the West Indies. In these matches he has 196 and 124 wickets respectively.
For now all the sport has come to a standstill due to the outbreak of coronavirus. But if everything goes as planned, West Indies will to lock horns against the England side in a three-match Test series in July.
But that looks highly unlikely. For now there is no confirmation if the T20 World Cup, slated to be held in October, will take place or not.
In fact there are talks of holding the IPL in the window slated for the T20 World Cup, which has been opposed by Australian legends like Ian Chappell and Allan Border.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has helped English cricket grow, feels England’s premier batsman Jos Buttler, admitting that the cash-rich T20 tournament is the best in the world after the ICC World Cups. Butler said he was desperate to be a part of this year’s IPL, which now has been indefinitely suspended owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The World Cup-winning England wicketkeeper-batsman has been a part of two franchises in the IPL. After playing for Mumbai Indians in the 2016-17 season, Buttler moved to Rajasthan Royals in 2018.
“There’s no doubt that it (IPL) has helped English cricket grow and the numbers of players who were involved in the last few years,” Buttler said in the BBC Podcast ‘The Doosra’.
“It was something I was desperate to play. For me it’s the best tournament in the world, taking out the World Cups,”he added.
Buttler, who made massive strides as a white ball player after a few seasons of IPL, said the league is like the fantasy cricket he aspired to play as kid, with the top stars of the game rubbing shoulders together.
“Some of the matchups you get to see in the IPL are great. Bangalore has been amongst the top three teams with (Virat)) Kohli, AB (de Villiers) and (Chris) Gayle coming up and then to see them up against a (Jasprit) Bumrah or a Dale Steyn or (Lasith) Malinga.
“As a kid growing up that is what you want to play — fantasy cricket. Mix all the teams together what it will be like if Kohli and de Villiers play together,” he added.
Buttler credited former skipper Kevin Pietersen, who advocated for the creation of a separate window for the IPL, paving the way for English players to be a part of the cash-rich tournament.
“English cricket has got quite an interesting history with the IPL. The documentary about Kevin Pietersen and how he wanted to get involved and the roadblocks he faced,”he said.
“He really paved the way for a lot of us to go and now play in the IPL with more blessing from English cricket. He is a pioneer in building the steps in place to realise just how important the IPL is for developing cricketers,” Buttler added.
The 13th IPL, which was scheduled to start in March-end, was indefinitely suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has also put in doubt this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
There is speculation that IPL might be conducted in October-November if the T20 World Cup in Australia is postponed.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli utilise his time well in lockdown with weight training inside his home gym. Sports activities were still lists under the restricted activity by the Indian government in the lockdown 4.0.
As the result sports personalities counties their isolation without resuming their training session. The Indian captain on Tuesday shared a video of himself performing an impressive weightlifting exercise that left many astonished on Instagram.
“Earn it. Don’t demand it,” Virat Kohli captioned the video. While fans flooded Virat Kohli’s Instagram post with praising remarks, South African cricketer AB de Villiers grabbed everyone’s attention with his comment.
Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate De Villiers posted a Flushed Face, Thumbs Up and Flexed Biceps emojis in the comments section.
Ab de Villiers comment on Virat Kohli’s Instagram post
Villiers and Kohli’s popularity among RCB fans is untouchable.
De Villiers said that he really enjoys playing for the franchise and has created friendships that he wouldn’t want to leave.
“I really enjoy the franchise, the vibe, the people. You create friendships you don’t want to leave. Then I started feeling that I actually want to play for RCB,” said the South African.
De Villiers and Kohli have formed a strong bond on and off the field and both speak fondly of each other.
Recently, the South African batsman had likened the Indian skipper to tennis legend Roger Federer, while comparing Kohli’s on-field rival Steve Smith to Rafael Nadal.
“It’s a difficult one, but Virat is definitely the more natural ball-striker, there’s no doubt about that,” de Villiers said during his interaction on “Sports Hurricane”.
“In tennis terms, I’d say he’s more like a (Roger) Federer whereas Smith is like a (Rafael) Nadal. Smith is mentally very strong and figures out a way of scoring runs – he doesn’t look natural, but he ends up writing records and doing amazing things at the crease,”De Villers added.
